Hi John,
Absolutely love your column and hoping you can offer me some advice. I am 33 and have recently sprouted a single unsightly black hair on my chin. I have trimmed it, not plucked, but it is a real pain having to constantly remember to manage it, so now I just want rid of it. I also have some hair on my upper lip which I usually bleach, but one or two of these have also recently gotten thicker. Could you advise me on the best way to deal with this? Should I get electrolysis on the few rogue hairs or just bite the bullet and laser the whole lot off. I am a bit nervous about the latter in case I just promote more hair growth of the surrounding fine hair (which don't bother me at all). What overall is the best method for hair removal: electrolysis, laser or IPL? What is the difference between them? I would really appreciate your advice on this. Thanks for your help,
Mo

Mo,
Oh...were that all question were as easy for me to answer as this one is! Book yourself in to have a quick zap of electrolysis. It will take moments and it will be a done deal. This is the only true method of permanent removal and you only have a single hair to have dealt with. Even if it hurts, it isn't like you have to sit and have in done another 150 times! LOL. You can have the few on your upper lip done at the same time if you want or you can see how you react to the treatment and have the rest done later. You usually pay for the amount of time the technician works on you and this will be a quick, inexpensive permanent solution to your little problem. Thanks for writing and I hope you continue to read handbag!
Best,
John

Dear John,
I have a beauty emergency - please help! In exactly one week I'm going to two weddings and I thought I'd do something a little different for me and wear really bold lipstick rather than my usual lip gloss and mascara combo. I've chosen the two lippies for the occasions - a gorgeous red by No7 called Daredevil and Rimmel's bright pink Funtime Fuchsia. The problem is that I don't know what I should team them with because I'm such a make-up novice. Please could you help me with your expert advice? I'm 22 years old, have very light and dry Indian skin, hazel eyes and black hair. I know it's probably going to be a bit hard without being able to see me but I welcome any advice.
Thanks a million times!

Hello,
Actually, this is not that hard. With your colouring you should be able to use both lipsticks with one of two eye make-ups and be bang on trend either way. One is to go with a very minimal but defined eye. A little shading with colours very near to your skintone, and defined around the lashes with soft liner or an application of darker eyeshadow to accentuate the lashline. You could even do a stronger liquid line with a flick - but then that is sort of expected if you know what I mean. The other would be to team the lips with a strong smoky eye. It is often said that you choose either the lip or the eye, but this season you can easily do both. Check the last couple of smoky eye video clips in the handbag. TV archive to see which sort of smoky eye application best suits the shape of your eye. Above all, be comfortable with what you do. If you feel self-conscious, you will look self-conscious. Have fun and enjoy the colour!
Regards,
John

Hi,
I'm Cara and I'm 15. It seems like all my friends seem to do something with their skin, like cleansing etc. I just use baby wipes to get rid of my make-up. Is this wrong? I have sensitive skin, and it will flare up with products it's reacted badly to, so I'm always a bit wary with new products. I don't get many spots, but my skin's quite dull. I wondered if you could recommend a cheap, quick regime or something to keep my skin nice.
Thanks,
Cara

Cara,
I am glad to hear you want to start doing a little bit more to your skin, but understand the hesitation with cost and sensitivity. I do have a lovely solution for you to try, but wanted to address the baby wipe issue - not only for you - but for everyone else reading this. A lot of you think that baby wipes are really great if you are sensitive, but in reality, think about what they were really made for. They are "gentle" but are made to remove things much less mentionable than a little bit of makeup! Same goes for baby shampoo. Baby shampoo is one of the most stripping products as it needs to keep the scalp clear of cradle cap and dry itchy skin.

I am happy to report that there is a brand of simple skincare made by a woman that had serious skin problems when she was young and finally found that it was all of the harsh chemicals in the products that were the problem. When she had a daughter of her own, the same happened to her. She couldn't believe in the 20 years that had passed there was still no inexpensive, but high quality skincare for younger women that needed to establish good skincare habits - so she decided to make one herself. The range is a small one that is almost completely natural called Elizabeth's Daughter. I would have a look at one of the two cleansers and the basic SPF15 Daily Moisturiser. Those two will get you started and should be excellent for your sensitive skin. You are exactly who this range was made for. There is also a purifying mask that will help to keep your dull complexion bright once you find whether or not the products suit you. You can find Elizabeth's Daughter products online and in better department stores around the country. I am positive you will enjoy the smells, the textures, and most importantly - the results.

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